Kyle’s interest in the plumbing industry began when he spent weekends and school holidays assisting his aunt and uncle, who own a plumbing company. “It was a way to bond with my dad over the weekend, and to get some extra cash. But I saw what could come from a career in plumbing.” Now, at just 21 years old, he’s employed, is well on his way in his apprenticeship and is enjoying some enviable perks as a the on-call plumber at Warriors games!
Kyle Mana-Metua Brown (Kumitau), is of Cook Island and Niuean descent (Cook Islands – Aitutaki and Atiu, Niue – Avatele). Born and raised in South Auckland, he attended Aorere College before starting his journey into the plumbing trade.
MPTT connections helped Kyle land an ideal job
Kyle started his pre-trades training with a clear sense of where he hoped it would take him.
“I’d been wanting to do plumbing for so long, so I was keen to get into the industry. I never really found doing the training a challenge because I was so focused on what I wanted.”
In 2021, Kyle graduated top in his class at MIT with a Level 3 in Plumbing, Drainlaying and Gas fitting which was funded by a scholarship from Māori and Pasifika Trades Training. He says wrap-around support from MPTT was a gamechanger – especially the encouragement of his MPTT Navigator, Chris Joseph and the connections to employers within the MPTT community.
“I attended the MPTT awards ceremony and there, Chris introduced me to Mark Katterns, a project director at Hawkins. Mark offered to connect me with one of their contract companies, so I left him my number.
“I followed up shortly afterwards as I had been struggling to get interviews for an apprenticeship on my own. Pretty soon after that, I was called up through Mark’s connections. He even came to the interview and sat in with me.”
Afterwards, Mark was super optimistic. He told me, ‘I didn’t need to sit in there with you – ten minutes into the interview, I could see you pretty much had the job.”
Kyle admits that there weren’t many questions about plumbing in his interview. Instead, his employer was more interested in whether he’d be a good fit for the team. “We mostly talked about Rugby League actually,” Kyle says. He explained that he had some experience with maintenance, and so the next day he was back for introductions to the head of those contracts.
The job started straight away, even though the city went into a Covid lockdown. Having to begin while restrictions were in place drew on his strengths of being a self-starter, but it was only a few weeks before he was able to work within a wider team. He’s now well underway with his apprenticeship at Hanlon Plumbing.
The Hanlon Group covers seven specialised areas, including Plumbing, Maintenance, Pump Services, Environmental, Drainage, Infrastructure, and Small Works. It operates across Auckland and the Upper Northland Region and has strong relationships with industry and communities. Halon is known for its use of cutting-edge technology and innovation.
Plumbing myths are busted
Kyle has rolled up his sleeves to learn all parts of the plumbing trade, from residential to commercial and maintenance work.
“I’ve finished the drainage part of the apprenticeship in my two and a half years, it’s just the hours that I need to work up now.” Kyle says.
With each job, he has grown his knowledge and has found more to like about the industry.
“Don’t think that plumbing involves touching poo all the time,” he says with wit. He thinks that is a common myth about the trade but finds that’s only in some rare cases in maintenance work.
“In residential plumbing, you’re really only getting new builds, so you’ll never see sewerage. Instead, you’re mainly doing piping and funnels ahead of the foundation slabs. You don’t come into contact with waste at all. And then you’ve got your commercial side, which was the exact same thing but on a much larger scale.”
Getting behind the Warriors
Commercial maintenance is a favourite for Kyle.
“It’s so much better. You learn a lot more, and it’s probably the best career path if you’re looking to make a bit more money.”
Plus, there are some great perks. Kyle gets to be the on-call plumber for the country’s biggest events and games.
“We look after the stadiums. So, whenever the Warriors or the big teams are playing a game at Mount Smart, Eden Park or North Harbour Stadium, we’re at the site waiting for jobs to come through. If we’re lucky, we get to watch the whole second half of a game. It’s cool.”
Variety keeps it interesting
Kyle loves that no two days are alike. Sometimes he might have a group of jobs at a hospital and on others, he spends a lot of time travelling between individual job sites.
“It’s vital to keep on top of your jobs each day, but there’s no pressure to rush any of the work as long as we’re keeping on track and doing things within reasonable time. For instance, I might start a day with four jobs, and then, as I do them, more will come through. At about two or three o’clock, the jobs slowly stop coming through as they’re pushed to the next day. It means we have enough time to finish everything.”
High quality work is important to Kyle. His main objective for the next few years is to master his trade as a craftsman. He’s well on the way, progressing through his apprenticeship with pace. And that will open up a huge range of opportunities.
From pipes to propane
Plumbing is just one area of the trade, along with drainlaying and gas fitting, which Kyle is particularly keen to explore.
“I’m definitely interested in getting into more gas. The hospitals and stadiums require a lot of work with gas. I think gas metres all over the place — every 50 metres or so the supplying houses and buildings. And there are big gas lines running through the country. So, even just doing gas by itself is a potential career. By working on the commercial side, I could go up to these massive gas lines. You can have a whole career just doing that. “
Kyle is excited about his future and wishes more people understood how many opportunities there are in getting certified in Plumbing, Drainage and Gas fitting. For now, he’s content to experience more parts of the aspects of his trade to hone his craftsmanship.
Once he’s completed his apprenticeship, the world will be his oyster: he knows that plumbing is a career where he’ll be prosperous and satisfied. Eventually, he’ll have his own business and it may even be one that inspires another generation to take up the trade.
If you’re considering a career in Plumbing, Gas fitting and Drainlaying click here. To find out more about the MPTT scholarship and how to apply click here.
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